The present invention relates to a method for supplying fluid to a space in a fluid transport system, or for draining said space which is located downstream of a cavity having an inlet and an outlet.
There are occasions when it is desired to bypass a cavity of this kind, for example by means of a tube from the inlet to the outlet, and if the inlet of the cavity is not in alignment with the outlet, difficulties occur. In such cases, one must use a tube which is sufficiently rigid and "feel one's way" to the outlet, and this is frequently inadvisable or impossible.
It has been tried in various ways to form the tube end portion in such a manner that it accompanies the fluid passing through the cavity from the inlet to the outlet, but without much success. Cavities of this type are to be found in a variety of applications, but one specific and obvious cavity is the human stomach which occasionally must be bypassed for fluid supply directly to the intestine. The background for this is as follows. After a major operation, especially in the abdomen, the stomach is temporarily paralysed for a few days, and the patient has difficulty in eating and keeping his food down. As a result, the supply of nutriment via the stomach is replaced by intravenous ingestion. However, this technique suffers from a number of shortcomings and necessitates the use of sterile solutions which will be expensive because they can be supplied only by trained nurses. In addition, the veins frequently become inflamed locally, and other changes may be caused by the inactivity of the intestine. It will thus be obvious that there are several reasons for postoperative supply of nutriment via the intestine. It is generally considered among surgeons that the postoperative supply of nutriment via the intestine (enteral supply) will gain ground in the next decade.
It is, however, no easy matter to pass a catheter past the stomach to the small intestine. It has been tried to use a catheter to which a balloon was affixed, and on the balloon mercury was deposited. This catheter which is termed the Miller-Abbot catheter, is used very restrictively, inter alia because of the risk of mercury leakage. The catheters that are available on the market suffer from the disadvantage that X-ray technique is required to be able to pass the catheter past the stomach and down into the intestine.